Deep Silent Winter
by reedleonn
Summary: After months of being absent from their lives, Pietro reappears out of the blue. But he isn't quite the same speed demon with which the Brotherhood or the X-Men were acquainted. There's something off about him. What happened to him and why has he come back to them after all this time? Most importantly, what dark secrets is he keeping from them?
1. Chapter 1

**Deep Silent Winter**

By: reedleonn

Disclaimer: Why would I own anything? It's a fanfic. Duh.

**Synopsis**: After months of being absent from their lives, Pietro reappears out of the blue. But he isn't quite the same speed demon with which the Brotherhood or the X-Men were acquainted. There's something off about him. What happened to him and why has he come back to them after all this time? Most importantly, what dark secrets is he keeping from them?

Enjoy and review if you feel like it.

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_"Looks like the weather today will be partly cloudy; it should be a fairly cool autumn day. We may see some rain coming down over the next few days as well but today I'd say there's only a 30 percent chance of any precipitation – not a lot of cloud cover going over Bayville over the next 24 hours but-" _ Evan blankly stared at the television screen from his seat at the kitchen table, his eyes at half mass being that he had woken up only 10 minutes prior. He had a chocolate chip cookie partially hanging out of his mouth and he propped his head up with one hand, the other twitched on the remote.

"Evan! Did you, like, just wake up?" Kitty asked from behind the darker skinned boy. Although Evan couldn't see it, her hands were on her hips and she puffed up her cheeks, waiting for a response.

"Yeah. So?" Evan replied, not even bothering to turn around. "I miss much in training?"

"Training with Logan was, like, totally cancelled this morning." Kitty stepped toward her friend as he nearly choked on his cookie.

"Cancelled? Man! What happened? They _never _cancel training!"

"The Professor didn't say. Bummer that we were all already up when we got the message telepathically, except you of course." Kitty tilted her head towards the door hearing a noise. Todd hopped in and Kurt teleported into the kitchen soon after.

"Give it back, _Toad_!" Kurt tackled Todd to the ground, Kurt's image inducer flying off in an unknown direction. Todd reached for it but Kurt managed to grab it seconds before Todd could even lift himself from the floor.

"You ain't no fun, Blue Boy!" Todd rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bruise forming.

"Man, I hate commercials." Evan groaned as he flipped stations. "Why does every TV station have the same ads on at the same time!"

"Unbelievable." Kitty rolled her eyes.

_"Found only at Wal-" _Flip."_The world's best clumping cat lit-" _Flip._ "call now for a free tri-" _Flip_. _Evan yawned and turned the TV back to the local news station.

"Don't you have homework you should be doing?" Kitty pestered.

"It's Sunday morning. I'll do it tonight." Evan snorted.

"That's dumb. And it's not morning. It's 12:30." Kitty turned and began to walk out of the room when she saw Wanda standing in the doorway. She was staring at the TV in awe, a contorted look on her face.

"Turn it up." Wanda said.

"Huh?" Evan turned his head in her direction.

"I said, **turn it up**." Wanda's eyes never left the screen.

"Alright, alright. Don't get testy."

Evan turned up the volume on the TV. "_New information has arisen, which police say could send several people from an anti-mutant group behind bars. Three weeks ago, it was released to the press that "mutant hunters" were abducting and holding hostage mutants from all around Bayville and even towns beyond Bayville. There is still debate over the rights mutants hold in our community so it is unclear what motivated officials to-_"

Evan, Kurt, and Kitty stood gaping at the TV. Wanda turned and walked back in the direction from where she came, not even wanting to hear the rest.

"Not to be a downer or anything but is this really a surprise?" Todd shoved his pinky in his ear, trying to clean it. "A lot of _normal_ people don't like us, if you haven't noticed."

Kitty stared at the place Wanda had been standing only moments ago. "Shut up, Todd."

* * *

Wanda watched the rain drops accumulate on the windowpane. She was only slightly aware that Lance had walked up and stood behind her, his eyes on the back of her head. "30 percent chance my ass."

"Weathermen don't know a lick of what they're talking about." Lance grunted. They stood in each other's company, the awkward silence between them.

"He disappeared on a dark day like this. The only difference is that it was freezing rain, not this crap weather."

"What? Freezing rain is better than just regular rain?" Lance chuckled.

"Everything was covered in a sheet of ice the next day." Wanda went on, ignoring Lance almost entirely. "Suddenly I feel like I'll never see him again."

"What are you talking about? I'm sure Pietro will show up sooner or later." Even saying this, Lance was unsure about it.

"Even if he does, it's been over half a year!" Wanda turned to face Lance, her eyes dark and gloomier than usual. Lance frowned.

"He'll be back. He always comes back."

Wanda turned back to look out the window. "Why are you here anyway? Did you need to tell me something or can you leave me alone?"

"Oh. Yeah." Lance kicked the ground. "'Bout that, Baldy wants to have a meeting with everyone together."

"Why didn't the jerk just send a telepathic message?"

"Uh. Dunno?" Lance turned and walked away. "It starts in 10 minutes."

Wanda felt her temper boil. Looking past the windowpane, she could see large puddles forming in the lawn. It was raining harder and she felt her anger turn to sorrow, loneliness, longing – her brother was lost.

She turned away and hurried to catch up with Lance.

They entered the piano room to see that all the other students were already waiting, looking quite bored and slightly confused. Wanda and Lance stood next to Rogue and Todd. They, surprisingly, failed to keep joking around when the instructors entered the parlor.

Ororo, Logan, and the Professor entered and while Hank McCoy was nowhere to be seen few people seemed to notice or think this was odd. Xavier entwined his fingers and rested his chin on them, a signal to his students that he was waiting for them to quiet down. When a couple of the newer students continued to laugh and talk amongst themselves, Logan held up a fist and drew out his claws. Everyone was silent in an instant.

"Thank you, Logan." The Professor closed his eyes in thought. "I have an announcement to make." Xavier was hesitant in telling them, a few of the students glanced at each other.

"What is it, Professor? Don't leave us hanging! First you cancel training and now a meeting. What's up?" Scott spoke out. Jean Grey, who was standing next to him leaning against a wall and arms crossed, exchanged quick glances with Xavier. She knew to say nothing about what Xavier was going to tell his students. Jean had already known the announcement all day without anybody telling her personally.

"Yes, well then. Without further ado, my announcement." Something was holding the Professor back and making him nervous. His students could tell and the feelings were passed along. "We have a new student."

The room exploded with questions. "_Who is she? Or is 'she' a 'he'? Tell us his name! What's his power? Where is he? Why isn't he here? Is he shy? Maybe he's shy! Have we seen her in school? Is he from another country? That'd be cool! Professor! Tell us! Yeah, come on! Tell us!" _

"Enough!" Xavier rubbed his temples. "He's been through a lot. I feel it would be best for him to slowly introduce himself as opposed me introducing him to everyone at once." The room filled with a chorus of "aww's."

"What happened to him?" Rogue spoke and all eyes were on her. When the Professor didn't answer her question immediately, she explained herself. "You said, 'he's been through a lot.' What happened to him?" She avoided eye contact with most everyone in the room.

The Professor nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm afraid that's his tale to tell. He'll tell you when he's ready." He looked around at his student's inquisitive faces. "Hank is with him now, helping him get settled. He arrived very early this morning." Xavier smirked. "Even before the first of your alarm clocks went off."

"We should go greet him!" Tabitha cheered. "Make him feel welcome and at home! It'll speed up the process!"

"I bet you'll throw your 'firecrackers' at him like you did when we first got here." Fred protested and motioned to the other members of the Brotherhood. "Besides, what kinda wimp doesn't show his face to the people living under the same roof as him?"

Fred and Tabitha continued their bickering and several other students chimed in to take sides. Rogue grudgingly turned to Jean, having both a comment and a question.

"So, Jean, who _is _the new kid? I mean there ain't nothing that can get passed you." Rogue raised an eyebrow at the redhead who noticeably tense up.

"Sorry, Rogue. I can't tell you."

"Pft, you're such a goody-goody." She grinned, trying to joke but when she noticed Jean wasn't laughing Rogue bit her tongue. "I didn't mean that…"

"I know you didn't, Rogue. And it's alright." Jean looked down at her feet. "I just truly understand the Professor's decision and I feel he's doing what's best for the new student."

"Right." Rogue nodded and offered Jean a smile.

"Hey, Rogue. Maybe we should help break up the argument." Jean motioned to the two groups of students led by Tabitha and Fred. Almost every student in the room had taken a side by now, even Scott. The only two who failed to do so were Lance and Wanda.

"Stop this now." Ororo stood in the middle between the two groups. "This is madness! The new student will not be chased after!" Storm knew that the students were capable of being overwhelming for new comers. The ambitious and energetic Xavier kids sometimes seemed like a pack of animals hunting down a piece of fresh meat. "Just leave him be for now." After Ororo's scolding, the argument settled down and the two groups dissolved into individual students again.

"Come on, Chuck. Finish this meeting preferably before I ring someone's neck." Logan commented. Xavier nodded in agreement.

"One last note and then you're all free to go." The students quieted down again at the sound of the Professor's voice. "If the new student does introduce himself to you, please use your best manners. He may seem a bit…different…than what you may expect." To this comment, there were a lot of head tilts and baffled looks.

Xavier's students filtered out of the piano room, talking to each other almost as if nothing had been said to them in the meeting. Only the instructors and a handful of students remained behind. Among them were Kitty, Evan, and Kurt. Lance stayed behind after Wanda crept out of them room before anyone else. He knew she wanted to be alone but he was not entirely sure why or what was bugging her. She would most likely confide in Rogue later, she often did as the two had become close.

Ororo approached the small group that remained. "Could you give us a moment?" She asked, a twinge of worry in her voice as she noticed Hank had entered the room.

"Is it about the new kid?" Evan yawned, still tired and waking up. Ororo nodded. "Man, what's with all the secrecy? It's not like we've never met a new student before."

"Please, Evan, this once don't argue." Ororo left them to dismiss themselves.

"Weird." Lance grunted and made his leave.

"I'm vith Lance on this one. Very strange." Kurt was soon to follow. Kitty and Evan were close behind.

Ororo rejoined the other instructors. "How is he?" She asked.

"Confused, disoriented, frightened." Hank sighed. "I gave him something to make him relax. He fell asleep soon after."

"I'll admit I was surprised when Nick Fury's number showed up on my cell at 2 am," Logan said. "Didn't know he was handling the 'mutant hunters' incident upstate."

"He needs rest and support. Life won't be easy for him for awhile." Hank pinched the bridge of his nose between his two fingers. "I'm going to go find something for this headache. Can somebody check on him in a few?" They all nodded as Hank went off to find some headache medicine.

"I'll go check on him, Chuck. Ororo, I think you need to scold your nephew for planning to skip out on my training session this morning. He better be there tomorrow or he'll get _extra special _training." Logan snorted.

"Actually, Logan. I would like to check on him. I can sense he is awake already and his mind is, quite literally, speeding uncontrollably." Logan waved a hand in agreement as he and Ororo walked away.

Xavier made his way to the elevator and for once he was having too much time to think and began pondering the state that the new student was in. His anxiety about the situation began coming to the surface once again. When he exited the elevator, he began down the hall, stopping in front of one of the many wooden doors and knocking. Upon turning the handle, he slowly creaked open the door as not to alarm the boy too much.

In front of him in the dark room, sat a teenager on the bed. Xavier could see with the light pouring in from the hallway that the boy was huddled into himself and shaking slightly. His arms hugging his knees, his legs pulled up to his chest, his back hunched, and his head turned downward hiding his face – the teen was terrified.

"It's okay. It's just me." The Professor entered and closed the door. He flipped the ceiling light on and the boy tensed up even more so. "It's alright, Pietro. You're safe now."

The teen turned his head toward the Professor. His white hair was hidden under his black hoodie and a shadow was casted down over his face. His blue eyes stared with uncertainty at the man before him. He was paler than ever and it accentuated the dark circles under his eyes.

Pietro's appearance and his stare were saying everything he was thinking. He had no need to open his mouth.

To be continued…

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Author Note: Thanks for reading Chapter One! Don't forget to review or favorite it or whatever you want.

I also have a fanart tumblr if you feel so inclined to look at that…there isn't anything posted just yet but keep checking back or follow it for dashboard updates (or whatever they're called.) I'll be posting artwork to it soon.

.com

Stay tuned for Chapter Two of "Deep Silent Winter" brought to you by reedleonn!


	2. Chapter 2

**Deep Silent Winter**

Chapter Two

By: reedleonn

**Author Note**: Well, here we are again! If you've come back for more, then I've done my job right.

Special thanks to my reviewers (in order of review):

-Guest

-Silver

.106

-fightingchampion

-WaitingForLife2Begin

Enjoy and remember to review, favorite, follow, PM, or whatever your little heart desires!

* * *

"I hate training sessions. I think I'll skip out tonight." Tabitha groaned from her spot leaning against the interior wall of the elevator. Her arms were crossed behind her head and she had her nose turned upwards. "I hurt everywhere."

"At least ve can look forward to breakfast, right?" Kurt rubbed his elbow, having taken a bad fall during morning training.

"Then school afterwards." Kitty was looking down at a sheet of loose-leaf paper, notes scribbled all over it.

Evan grunted. "Don't you have a test today?"

"I'm going to ace it! I can totally feel it!" Kitty said, never looking up from her notes.

"Have any of you seen the new kid yet?" Tabitha asked as she looked at her ruined manicure. The others who were present shook their heads. "Jeez, it's been days. What does he think we're going to do to him? Bite his head off?"

"I hear he's, like, totally terrified and has barely, if at all, left his room yet." Kitty folded the piece of paper and slipped it into her jean pocket. Her eyebrows furrowed, she looked downwards.

The elevator stopped and the group of teenagers exited and began down the hallway towards the dining room.

"Yeah? Well, I hear he's got three eyes, a tail, _and _can kill you with just one look." Evan snickered.

"Hey! **I **have a tail! You have something against mutants with tails?" Kurt spat. The two stood at a stand off and dared the other to make the next comment.

"Are you two spreading rumors?" Hank put a hand on each boy's shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at either one.

"No…" Kurt said sheepishly.

"Would we ever do that, Teach?" Evan avoided direct eye contact.

"Regardless, please treat the new student with the respect you would offer any of your fellow team members."

"Yeah, but where is he? We haven't actually met him yet." Tabitha asked with a groan.

Beast looked around, as if searching the area for something or someone. "He may be coming down for breakfast this morning actually." The older mutant put a hand to his chin. "Although, I can't be sure he'll be true to his word." The younger mutants looked at each other with hope and excitement but also confusion.

When the group entered the dining hall, most everyone else was there already. They went right to their usual seats. Places were not assigned but each teen had their own preferred spot at the table. Looking around at each person, it was obvious the new kid had yet to make his appearance.

Hank McCoy sighed and put his hand to his brow.

"It's alright, Hank," the Professor said, sensing his frustration. "He'll come down when he feels comfortable. _You've been with him the most out of all of the instructors._ _I'd say he's taken a liking to you_." The second part the Professor had said using his powers.

_"I was so sure I had convinced-" _Hank followed the Professor's eyes to the dining hall entrance.

A figure lingered by the doorframe, attempting to hide behind it. The boy kept his hood as far down as he could and was able to hide some of his face in shadow.

"Hey, look! It's the new kid!" Todd called out first, forcing everyone in the room to look at the new student. Sensing that the crowd was increasingly frightening the teen, the Professor motioned to Hank to go to him. And while Beast went over to talk to the frightened teen, the other instructors attempted to distract the other students into ignoring the new one.

The teen backed up when the older mutant approached. Beast halted, frowning. "It's alright if you don't yet want to do this. But I think everyone would really like you to join them." Pietro looked away in thought. Beast extended a hand and while Pietro's first reaction was to flinch away, he soon found himself taking Hank up on his offer.

The conversation at the breakfast table had already divided; small groups talked about subjects such as morning training, school exams, or video games. Outwardly, they had already forgotten the newcomer but on the inside they were all anxious to meet him.

The new student stood in front of the large group of mutants and said nothing. Hank had his hands on the boy's shoulders, trying to comfort him. One by one, the Xavier kids noticed the teen and tried to hold back long lists of questions and instead offered a smile or a 'hello' or a 'welcome.'

Hank seated Pietro next to Lance who was in turn next to Wanda. On the other side of him sat Rogue. Lance stared at the teen, feeling he was very familiar so Rogue shot Lance a glare silently telling him to open his mouth and not just awkwardly gape at him.

"So, you're the new kid, huh?" Lance asked, still feeling he knew the other teen from somewhere.

The newcomer tried to ignore Lance and failed to open his mouth to respond. Instead, he began to pile food on his plate. Lance, and even Rogue, stared at the amount of food he stacked in front of himself.

"You must be hungry…didn't they feed you wherever you came from?" Lance tried joking but was shocked when the mysterious other boy shook his head. Avalanche looked past the newcomer to Rogue who was frowning back at him.

"Don't mind him; he's an idiot." Rogue offered a smile, seeing the slightest upward tilt of the other teen's mouth. "You have a name?"

A nod.

"Well? Are you going to tell us what it is?" Lance grumbled. He was getting impatient. Rogue shot him another glare. The new kid was shoveling food into his mouth, ignoring the whole interaction. Lance leaned in closer to the new kid. "What? Are you afraid?" Lance returned to an upright position with snort. Wanda, now paying attention, elbowed Lance in the ribs for Rogue. "What the hell, Wanda? He's being obnoxious."

"And you're being a jerk…Lance." The new kid's voice, although extremely hoarse, was eerily recognizable. The teen rose from his seat, glanced at the rest of the table's occupants, and then made his leave.

Lance pointed at the slender boy walking away from the table. "How'd he know my name?" His mind was slow to work but something was nagging at the back of his brain. With one look at Wanda's astonished face, Lance knew the answer. Although the girl next to him was frozen in disbelief, he was not and he quickly followed the new kid in tow.

The entire breakfast table watched on as if what was happening before them was some sort of film that they'd be tested on later. Rogue looked back at the teen's plate and saw that the enormous pile of food had been completely devoured. "Wow, he really was hungry." She whispered to herself.

"Wait!" Lance called after the new kid as he continued down the hallway. "Hey! I said wait!" He quickened his pace to try to catch up with him. "Pietro!"

Pietro stopped and lowered his head but did not turn around.

"What the hell, dude? You come back after being gone for months and you don't tell anyone?" Lance finally caught up to the speed demon. "Where have you been? What _happened_?"

For a moment, it seemed as though Pietro was contemplating telling Lance everything but instead he tried to continue to walk away.

"Oh no you don't!" Lance grabbed Pietro's forearm and he felt the other teen stiffen in fear. Lance could tell Pietro hadn't been lying about being starved. He felt extra thin.

Pietro pulled his arm away and before Lance could say anything else, Pietro sped off and was gone. Wanda and Rogue appeared behind Lance.

"He's faster than he used to be or am ah' seeing things?" Rogue was astonished at how much more quickly he had disappeared.

"No, you're not seeing things." Wanda told her.

* * *

Hank walked up to Pietro's room but hesitated knocking. He could hear the teen's footsteps pacing back and forth, back and forth. Beast let out a sigh and, after taking a deep breath, he exhaled and knocked softly.

"Go away!" Pietro yelled through the door and Beast could hear he continued to pace the room.

"Pietro, it's Hank…Please let me in. Let's talk."

"Go…away…" he said again pathetically.

"Please, Pietro. You don't have to go through this all alone." There was a moment of silence. Pietro's pacing had stopped momentarily, his footsteps halted, and he said nothing.

Hank then heard his footsteps walking towards the door, closer to the older mutant, but still the door did not open even though Pietro stood just on the other side.

"Please." Hank said again. The door cracked open and Pietro let Hank in although he retreated to the other side of the dark room. There were no lights on and the curtains were drawn. "Thank you." The older mutant smiled faintly. "They didn't mean to insult you, you know that, right?"

Pietro spun around. "I'm _not _insulted." He snapped. Hank waited for him to continue. "I…just…ugh! You all suck, you know?" Beast raised an eyebrow. "I mean none of you could _possibly_ understand and yet you _try _to. You're all just so _stupid_. They'd just end up getting hurt or pityingmeandIdon'twantthat. Idon'twantthat. Idon'twantanyoneelsetohurtme. Ithurtsalot. I'mscared…" The teen suddenly felt lightheaded from failing to take breaths between his words and wobbled back and forth. Beast went to steady the boy to make sure he did not topple over. "Don't _touch_ me!" he screamed as soon as Beast put a steady hand on his shoulder. He pushed him away at the same time.

"Alright but you need to calm down. Take deep breaths." Beast watched as the teen followed instructions grudgingly while steadying himself by holding onto the edge of the bed. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal and he was able to stand up straight again. "Better?" Pietro nodded, not looking Hank. "Since the secret's out, the Professor feels it would be best for you now to formally introduce yourself.

Pietro grunted. "No way…"

"Why not?"

"They already know me." Pietro spat. "Or they think they do anyway."

"So, if they're wrong, prove it to them." To Hank's comment, Pietro bit his lip.

Beast left the room, giving Pietro a minute to think. As he closed the door behind him, he noticed the doorknob was a bit rusted. Beast passed it off as just an oddity and stood waiting for Pietro to come to a final decision.

* * *

They were all waiting for newcomer to show his face to them. Some of the students were angry, others curious, and a select few were either relieved or happy he had returned to them after being gone for an extended period of time. His whereabouts had been unknown to those who cared.

"Where is he? The 'speed demon' being slow? That's new!" Evan chuckled and a few other students joined in.

"Evan!" Ororo scolded.

"What? After being a asshole to us all this time, I can't make a joke about him?"

"It's different now, Evan. The situation is different." Ororo frowned.

The Professor looked to the door and all eyes followed his gaze. The hooded figure entered once again with Beast in tow. The teen looked up at the taller, blue mutant who nodded back at him, and then stepped forward, standing in front of the group.

The teen looked around at everyone. Realizing at this moment that just as much as they did not really know him, he failed to know any of them.

"Hey…Sorry about being an 'asshole' to you before." He turned his head in Evan's direction. Evan scratched the back of his head and looked away. "But can I get a second chance at this?" He slowly, and hesitantly, pushed back his hood. He had attempted to slick back his hair as he used to but it looked as though someone had carelessly chopped a good deal of it off. The other students could also see the dark circles under Pietro's eyes as well as a few very faint bruises and gaped with wide eyes at him. There was a good deal of whispering amongst his fellow students, some even looking horrified. Pietro avoided looking at anyone. "Maybe this was a bad idea…"

Scott, the designated leader, approached Pietro. He didn't have a particular expression written on his face or at least not one that Pietro could comprehend or distinguish. He walked with confidence and stood tall and when he stopped directly in front of Pietro, the younger boy took one step back cautiously.

But then Scott did something Pietro would never have expected in a hundred years – he extended his hand. Pietro blinked, surprised at his gesture. He looked up and saw Scott smiling back. So, Pietro, very slowly lifted his hand up and shook Scott's, trembling slightly.

There was cheering from the other students, although Pietro was only faintly aware of it. His thoughts wouldn't stop running away from him.

* * *

To be continued…

**Author Note**: I hope I did not disappoint! Was it satisfying? Tell me your thoughts 'cause I want to hear them!

I hope to see you next chapter!

By the way, if you go to my profile page, there is a link to my fanart tumblr. There may or may not be some Pietro fanart there. -wink-


	3. Chapter 3

**Deep Silent Winter**

Chapter Three

**Author Note: **I've had really great feedback from you, the readers! Keep it coming! As always, feel free to review, favorite, follow, PM, etc. etc. It keeps me encouraged and engaged to write.

Special thanks to my reviewers for Chapter Two:

fightingchampion

Sonar

Silver

RandomFandom

Warning...there is some strong language and violence in this chapter...

...get over it.

Now enjoy Chapter Three.

* * *

Professor Xavier sat at his desk, a mountain of paperwork in front of him. He sighed and, instead of tending to it, glanced over at a thick manila folder pushed to the other side. The name on the tab read 'Maximoff, Pietro.' The Professor brushed off some notes from the top of it to find the logo for Bayville Hospital embossed on the front. The Professor pulled the folder in front of him and flipped the top open.

The sheet of paper on top gave his general information – name, birthday, and the like. He noted that Pietro had been admitted to the hospital two weeks before the news had begun to cover the story of the abductions and hostage situation from where he had come. SHIELD most likely would have liked to keep the information under lock and key but somehow it had been leaked to the press. His date of release was only a week ago – the date of the morning Pietro arrived at the Xavier Mansion.

Xavier turned the page and his eyes were met with photographs documenting the abuse enforced on the teen. Bruises, lacerations, even burn marks - the list of injuries went on and on.

A knock at the door snapped the Professor out of his thoughts.

"You wanted to see me?" Lance walked up to his desk. He glanced down at the photos. "What the hell…?" The Professor quickly closed the folder. "Was that…?"

"Listen, Lance, I have heard that you and Pietro are good friends-"

"Used to be. I don't know what he considers me anymore." Lance grumbled.

"Yes, but you still think highly of him, don't you?" To this comment Lance nodded. "I have a favor to ask."

"Yeah? What?" Lance raised an eyebrow.

"I would like you to be near-by when Pietro has his next health exam. Just outside the infirmary, should Mr. McCoy need you."

"Huh? Why?"

"Let me ask you this: how has he interacted with you so far? Since he's gotten here?" The Professor rested his chin on his entwined fingers.

"He seems…scared of _something_. Of what I have no clue yet. He hasn't told me anything." Lance's face scrunched. "Big idiot...When's his next health exam?"

"Early this afternoon. In a couple hours." The Professor said looking at the digital clock on his desk.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'll do it." Lance waved the idea off as if it was no big deal. "Where is Pietro now anyway? I haven't seen him all morning."

"Probably hiding from me." The Professor chuckled and Lance gave him an inquisitive look. "He's supposed to have a session with me in 5 minutes."

Lance laughed. "Well, good luck finding him. When he don't want to be found, it's nearly impossible to catch the guy." Lance began walking out of the room.

"I have my ways of finding those who are lost."

The teen opened the door to Xavier's office and there stood Logan, struggling to hang on to Pietro. "Letgoletgoletgo!" Pietro squirmed. Lance maneuvered past the two of them, the younger one too preoccupied to ask for help.

"Stop squirming around, Speedy!" Logan growled and then hissed as Pietro dug his teeth into Logan's arm.

"It's alright, Logan. Let him be." Wolverine reluctantly released his hold on the boy who curled up into himself and held his hands up defensively.

"I wasn't going to hurt you, Kid." Logan felt a slight pang of guilt.

"Pietro, look at me." The Professor told him but he failed to listen or even hear the demand. "_Look at me, Pietro."_ He said again but this time using telepathy. The teen still didn't look up but instead shook his head. The Professor signaled for Wolverine to leave the room, which he did quietly. "_It's alright. Logan's gone." _

The Professor was patient and gave the boy time to relax on his own. He finally looked up a few minutes later.

"Come have a seat." The Professor wheeled himself over to a sofa; Pietro was slow to follow but did as he was told. He sat, observing the room around him. The Professor picked up an audio recorder from the end table and clicked a button. "I'm going to be recording this session, alright?"

"Uh huh…" The teen continued to search the room.

"First of all, how are you doing? Are all the other students treating you alright?"

"I'm fine." He said, not really looking at the Professor. "The other students are okay to me."

"And how are you feeling? Physically?" Pietro shrugged to this but didn't really answer. "Are you tired? Hungry much? Does anything hurt?" He looked everywhere except at the Professor, distracted. "Pietro?"

Pietro looked at him finally. "Hm?"

"I asked how you were feeling." The Professor furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm okay."

"Have you slept much?"

"A couple hours here or there…" Pietro told him and the Professor nodded. "I have trouble sleeping."

"Why do you think that is?" The Professor asked.

"Lots of nightmares." Pietro looked away again.

"Can you tell me about them? The nightmares?" The Professor watched the boy search the room. After a few moments of no answer, the Professor tried to change the subject. "What are you looking for?"

"Just making sure." Pietro answered.

"Making sure of what?"

"That _they _aren't here." Pietro looked back at Xavier. "I don't want to go back there. Please don't make me. Idon'tlikethatroom. Don'tletthemtakemeback."

"It's alright. You're safe here." The older mutant tried to comfort the teen. The Professor tilted his head as Pietro looked down at his hands. "Can you tell me about 'that room?'"

"It was always dark – no windows or lights. It was cramped and I couldn't move around much." Pietro started to stare off into space. "They only time I saw anyone was when _those_…people came…to…hurt me."

The Professor watched the boy, a look of concern on his face. "Pietro? Are you alright?"

Pietro didn't answer.

* * *

_"Look at the stupid fuck! Goddamn mutant!" Pietro tried to back away from the men but the tiny, dark room would only allow him to go so far. His back hit the wall and the chain around his ankle would barely allow him any more distance anyway. One of the men grabbed him and tossed him to the ground. The other man kicked him in his already aching stomach. The boy let out a yelp. "What? Did that hurt?" They laughed as Pietro tried pathetically to pull himself off the floor._

_Blood dripped from his mouth and onto the floor. The second man grabbed Pietro by his snowy white hair and yanked him upright. "Maybe if you beg we'll give you a meal today!" The man let go of his hair and Pietro fell to the ground once again. He looked up at them only able to see the silhouettes of the men despite his eyes having been adjusted to the darkness for quite some time already. _

_"Beg!" The first man screamed._

_Pietro opened his mouth to say something but he went into a coughing fit, his throat dry from dehydration. _

_"Hm. I don't think he respects us enough yet. What do you think?"_

_"I don't think he deserves to eat today." They snickered. "Think we should tighten that chain though."_

_"Probably!"_

_Pietro coughed. "Please! Don't!"_

_"What'd you say? How dare you speak to us, fucker!" the man's voice growled. He pushed Pietro to the floor and onto his back, holding him there under his own weight. The teen could hear the man rustling with something. "They say you're fast. Well, this will teach you." _

_Pietro felt something stab into his leg and the excruciating pain that went with it._

* * *

The teen cried out in pain, finally coming back to reality. He felt something on his arm and instantly went to swat it away. He then frantically backed to the other side of the sofa.

Pietro remembered where he really was and that he was with the Professor. His breathing slowly calmed and the panic began to subside. Still, he felt disconnected from the world around him.

The Professor was a patient man but he worried about his charge. The memory had gone through Pietro's head too quickly for him to follow and it was difficult for him to reach the boy in that state.

"Can you hear me?" The Professor asked and Pietro looked directly at him. "If you can then nod your head." Pietro nodded although he was still quivering. "I think we should continue the session unless you feel you absolutely cannot go on." The Professor waited for an answer.

"I remember most of it vividly…but…" Pietro put a hand to his forehead. "But I can't remember how I got there in the first place. How did they catch me? Why can't I remember?"

"It's possible it was so traumatic for you that you're blocking the memory. I suppose it could be something physical but I doubt it if that's the only thing you feel you've forgotten." Xavier said. "Why don't you tell me what you **do **know?"

"This group of people, normal people, they kept me in a room and wouldn't let me go…they wouldn't let me go…"

"They were an anti-mutant group and what they did to you was wrong. From what SHIELD told me, they had been abducting many, many mutants from around the area and keeping them locked up somewhere hidden. When Nick Fury found out about this, he led an operation to rescue you and the others."

"Nick Fury? Who…"

"Do you remember the man who escorted you here from Bayville Hospital?" Pietro nodded faintly as if he wasn't sure.

"There were others?" Pietro asked and Xavier nodded.

"They have all been returned home safely."

"That's good…" Pietro went silent.

"The case is under investigation." Xavier offered.

Pietro looked over to a dead plant in the corner of the room. Its leaves were wilted and brown, it was a sad sight.

"That's strange. That plant was fine just this morning."

"Are we done?" Pietro asked suddenly while looking down at his shoes.

Xavier nodded. "Yes, but don't forget you have a health exam in about an hour."

Pietro sped off before the Professor could say anything more.

* * *

"Why does the Professor want you do be around for my brother's health exam?" Wanda asked from her spot on the window seat. Lance shrugged it off.

"So, why haven't you talked to him yet?" Lance asked. "He _is _your twin brother." Wanda stayed quiet. "Whatever. You don't need to tell me. I was just curious."

"I'm afraid he won't be the same moron that left."

"He isn't the same moron…but he is…it's weird and complicated."

"Why haven't **you** talked to him?" Wanda swung her legs around and dangled them over the edge. Lance stood awkwardly with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"It's true. He left while things were still so screwed up between us and, yes, it hurts to seem him the way he is now…but I don't…I won't give up on him just yet." Lance got closer to Wanda, she hadn't noticed that he had completely avoided her question. "He needs us."

"I know." Wanda looked away. Lance pushed back a loose strange of hair from Wanda's face. Her hair had grown a bit and she hadn't bothered cutting it back yet. Wanda's gaze met Lance's but then Wanda nervously turned her attention back out the window and the boy's hand retreated.

"Hm." Lance grunted. "I'll catch you later then."

"Yeah." Wanda pulled her legs up to her chest and put her arms around them. She continued to look out the window and didn't bother turning to Lance when he began walking away.

Lance started toward the kitchen for a snack. Along the way he passed other "new" students who were gossiping about nothing in particular. He wasn't even sure he knew their names but was quite certain they somehow knew his.

He rammed into Mr. McCoy and was propelled out of his daze. Lance tumbled to the floor but a large blue hand was extended to help him up. "Sorry about that, Lance." Hank said as Lance was pulled to his feet.

"Whatever." Lance brushed himself off. "I suppose you're looking for Pietro?"

"No, actually, I've been looking for you." Hank said and waved a hand in the direction of the infirmary. They walked onward together.

"Pietro actually showed up then?" Lance asked with a tinge of surprise in his voice.

"Not yet. But he will." Hank sounded confident to Lance.

"Yeah…right. He's not very good at keeping appointments."

"Logan wanted to find him for me. He said something about apologizing to him for earlier."

Lance snickered. "Logan feels guilty? That's hilarious!"

The two mutants stood just outside the infirmary. There were a few chairs lining one wall for times like this. "Thank you for agreeing."

"Huh? Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Lance asked but Mr. McCoy just offered a quick smile.

"How are _you _doing?"

"Fine…" Lance responded.

"If you need to talk to anyone about the situation-"

"I'm fine." Lance rolled his eyes. "But thanks."

"Anytime."

They heard footsteps approaching and scanned the area for to whom they belonged. Logan met up with them first followed by Pietro who was dragging his heels. He stared blankly at his shoes.

"I need to speak with Logan for a moment." Hank said. "Please excuse us."

The two instructors walked over to the other end of the hall and began whispering to one another. Neither teen could make out what they were saying so instead they looked at one another.

"Hey, how are you feeling…?" Lance tilted his head slightly. Pietro looked back down at his shoes. "Tro? Listen, I know things-"

"I'm sorry…Lance." Pietro glanced up briefly.

"For what exactly?"

"For being a bad friend." Pietro said. Lance couldn't believe what he was hearing. Pietro Maximoff doesn't often sincerely apologize, especially not for something so arbitrary as for 'being a bad friend.' Pietro was shaking now. "I'm so sorry. Ishouldneverhavebetrayedyouguysandtakenadvatageofyourtrust. Ishouldn'thaveleft. I'mabadfriend. I'msorryI'msorryI'm-"

"Pietro, STOP!" Lance's brow was furrowed and his eyes were wide. "You were doing the best you could…I'm sure." He had no clue what he was saying or why he was saying it. "You've never been a 'bad friend.'"

Pietro looked directly into Lance's eyes. "Liar."

This made Lance's blood boil. "What do you want me to say? That it hurt when you screwed us over more than once? That I hated, _hated_, what you did to all of us, your teammates…your friends? Dude, we were like a family and you stabbed us in the back!" Pietro's expression was blank. "But even after all that…After the sentinel…after all that other shit you put us through, I still think of you as my best friend…Why? I have no idea!" He still stared at Lance, his eyes cold. "Well…say something…"

Pietro's eyelids fluttered and he swallowed hard. He was still shaking but worse than before. "Don't make me go back." His eyes filled with tears and the next time he blinked a couple fell down his cheeks. He tried desperately to wipe them away and turned his head, his face flushed.

"Tro…" Lance tried to put a comforting hand on his arm but Pietro pulled away. "What happened to you? Where have you been?"

"Please…I…don't want to go back." Lance looked over to the two instructors who were glancing their way. Looking back at his friend, he saw Pietro's expression had gone blank again. He looked up at Lance.

"Hey, whatever's going on with you…you'll be okay." Lance tried to smile but he wasn't entirely sure he meant what he said.

Hank returned to the two teens' sides. Logan had wandered off, having apparently cleared his conscience. "I need to take Pietro into the infirmary now." He told them. "Please have a seat, Lance." Mr. McCoy guided Pietro through the doors. He gave little resistance.

Lance went to sit in one of the chairs, not really thinking or looking at what he was doing. As soon as he put his weight down, he went tumbling to the floor with the old and now broken chair. The chair, even though it was in pieces, looked ancient, as if it had been sitting in that spot for years. "Xavier should invest in newer stuff…jeez…" Lance said to himself and proceeded to sit in the new chair placed right next to the one he had just broken.

Pietro stood feet away from the hospital bed. "Come and take a seat." Hank said as he looked down at a clipboard. He shuffled through pages of information. Pietro swallowed hard and gradually made his way to the bed to take a seat. "Can you take off your hoodie and shirt please? Shoes too. " Hank said, still reading. "Everything else can stay on."

Pietro hesitantly unzipped his hoodie to reveal a lightweight navy blue sweater underneath. It clung to his thin frame but the sleeves seemed just a tad too long and came halfway down his thumbs. He pulled off his shoes and socks next and then waited.

"Shirt too, Pietro." Hank said. He glanced up from the notes. Hank continued reading when he saw Pietro motioning to taking off his shirt. The teen was slow to do it out of nervousness. It was also fairly cool in the infirmary as it was in Bayville Hospital and Pietro didn't fancy being cold.

Mr. McCoy looked up again from Pietro's file, making sure to mentally document Pietro's physical appearance and his still healing injuries while the teen wasn't looking. Although Pietro would normally have enhanced and exhilarated recovery capabilities, the abuse inflicted left him in a weakened state, his body unable to fully take advantage of his mutation. Although most of the bruises were barely visible, some of the burns and deep cuts were still healing. At the same time, in many ways, his mutation was working against him. Hank could faintly see some of his ribs, which made Hank think that Pietro was definitely underweight.

"Pietro, can I have you come over to the scale for a minute?" Mr. McCoy said. Pietro turned his head to him and nodded, getting off the bed and coming over to the scale where Hank stood. Pietro got on and Hank measured both his height and weight in one go. At 5'11'', Pietro was only 126lbs, which confirmed Hank's assumption – Pietro was well underweight. "Alright, you can return to the bed."

The boy nodded again and returned to his seat, Hank following. After scribbling down some notes, Beast put down his clipboard on the table next to the bed. He went to take the teen's pulse, pressing two fingers to the boy's wrist and looking at his watch. Pietro offered little resistance although Hank knew he was starting to get more uncomfortable.

"Why don't you lie down? You seem anxious." Hank said and Pietro sheepishly looked away, ignoring Hank's advice.

Hank took the stethoscope from around his neck and placed the appropriate pieces in his ears. He held the other end against Pietro's chest and he tensed noticeably. The boy began breathing erratically, barely noticeable at first but it soon became more and more labored.

"Just breath normally." Hank said as he moved the device around the teen's chest and to his back. He pulled it away when he noticed Pietro was not calming down. "It's alright. You're okay." Beast gently pushed Pietro to lay down with the bed slightly angled to support his back. The boy's eyes were fluttering between being open and staying shut, he shook his head every so often. "Lance!" Hank called to the other boy who was just outside the room.

Lance hurried in as Beast was trying to prevent Pietro from hurting himself, him, or Lance. He was lashing out as if to attack someone. Lance was at Pietro's side in an instant, trying to help.

"Pietro, calm down! You're safe!" Hank tried to reason with him.

"Nononononogetawaygetway!" Pietro had his eyes squeezed shut and continued to struggle against Mr. McCoy.

"Pietro! Can you hear me? It's Lance!" Lance grabbed Pietro's shoulders and Hank rushed off to grab something to help calm him. "Tro! Listen! You're okay! You're okay!"

"Getoff! Ithurtsithurts! Goaway!" His super speech was faster than ever and Lance was surprised that he could still understand it. "Getawayfromme! Don'thurtme!" Pietro took a swing at Lance but Lance grabbed his wrist seconds before his fist impacted with the other boy's face. "No!No!"

Hank returned with a needle and, after wiping a spot on Pietro's arm with an alcohol swab, inserted it into his arm, injecting him with a sedative. Within moments, Pietro began to feel weak, as if his entire body was made of something soft and squishy like cotton candy.

He gradually stopped struggling and opened his eyes a crack to see two worried faces above him. His breathing regulated and he felt more relaxed, too relaxed for his own liking. He now struggled to keep himself from sleep but eventually could resist no longer.

* * *

To Be Continued…

**Author Note**: By the way, there is a link on my profile page to my fanart tumblr. Although there isn't much art on it yet, there are a couple drawings. Check it out if you want.

Stay tuned for Chapter Four!


	4. Chapter 4

**Deep Silent Winter**

Chapter Four

**Author Note**: What's up, everyone? Back for more **Deep Silent Winter**? Awesome. I've been expecting you all. Thusly, I've prepared Chapter Four!

And if you have the chance, review damn it.

Special Thanks to Chapter Three Reviewers:

-fightingchampion

-Sonar

-Silver

-WaitingForLife2Begin

Now on with it! Enjoy!

* * *

"I was able to finish the physical, more or less, while he was sedated." Mr. McCoy stood in front of Xavier's desk, a clipboard in his hand. He flipped through pages of notes and test results. "I was also able to run some blood work."

"Did you find anything abnormal? Is he healing alright?" The Professor had one hand to his chin and wore a concerned look on his face.

"His blood work is normal and he seems in relatively good health although his vitals are 'accelerated' and he's underweight." Hank sighed.

"If that's true then what's bothering you?" Xavier asked.

Hank furrowed his brow, frowning. "I'm not sure. Something is just _different_."

"Different? Hank, considering what he's been through-"

"It's not that _he's_ different. Of course _Pietro_ is different and I would expect that. But it's something else." Hank couldn't quite put his finger on it. He suddenly noticed the dead plant in the corner of the Professor's office. "What happened to that plant? Ororo always takes such good care of them. I could have sworn it was fine last time I was in your office."

"Hm? It seems to have dried out." Xavier answered. "I know what you're getting at, Hank. I feel Pietro is keeping something from us but his mind is just too fast for me to follow."

"Something just isn't right." Hank sighed again out of frustration.

_"Professor!" _Xavier flinched at the loud voice in his head.

_"What is it, Kitty?" _He responded while holding up a hand to Hank, signaling to the other mutant that one of the students was talking to him.

_"Something's happened! Pietro's gone! He's not in the infirmary!"_

_ "We'll be right there. Stay calm."_ Xavier turned to the big blue mutant. "Looks like Pietro woke up and has run off somewhere. At least, that's what I'm hoping happened." Xavier began to wheel himself away from his desk.

"Charles? What's going on?" Hank asked with a hint of panic in his voice.

"Follow me to the infirmary."

* * *

"We just came in to bring him some dinner and ask if he needed anything. We were like trying to be friendly and all." Kitty said and then looked over her shoulder at Rogue and Wanda. "But…"

"But when my brother saw me, he freaked out and made a run for it." Wanda stated.

"None of us even saw him go!" Rogue played with her hair nervously. "One second he was here totally flipping out and then the next he was just…gone."

"I'll go to Cerebro to try and locate him-" The Professor began.

"There's something else…" Kitty hugged herself, shivering.

"What is it?" Hank asked cautiously.

The three teen girls looked at each other and then Rogue and Wanda separated to reveal the small nightstand as well as the meal they had brought for their new teammate. The food that was neatly placed on the tray was completely rotten and had a large amount of mold growing on it.

"What the-" Hank gasped.

"We swear! It wasn't like this when we brought it to him!" Rogue protested. "It's like it all rapidly aged or somethin'. We only noticed it had happened after Pietro was gone!"

"Did he touch it?" Hank asked.

"No…like I said, he saw Wanda, got really upset and ran out of here." Kitty said. "Professor…what's, like, going on with him?"

Hank and Xavier looked at each other. "We aren't certain just yet." He stated. "Do you have any idea where he ran off to?"

"Knowing my brother, he probably went to hide somewhere…probably near-by." Wanda said, arms crossed.

"Kitty and Rogue, you two can go. We need to speak with Wanda." Professor Xavier said. The two girls reluctantly nodded and headed out of the infirmary.

"I already told you what happened." Wanda spat once the other two girls were gone.

"You didn't leave anything out?" Hank asked with a slight smirk.

"Like what? I didn't even get to talk to him…" Wanda's gaze fell.

"We'll find him, Wanda." Xavier raised an eyebrow. "You go with Hank up to Pietro's room to see if you can find any hints to his whereabouts."

"He could be on the other side of the world by now…" Wanda mumbled.

"Yes. He _could_. But you said yourself, he probably isn't." Xavier stated.

Hank put a comforting hand on Wanda's shoulder. "Come on, let's go get started." He said and she nodded.

"You know where to find me if you uncover anything." Xavier took his leave.

Wanda and Mr. McCoy walked together in silence even though there was a lot that needed to be brought up. However, Hank figured it was the wrong time to be discussing the situation that involved Wanda's brother and his mental instability. Thusly, the walk to Pietro's room was slightly awkward; Hank glanced over at Wanda from time to time to examine her expression but got little information out of doing so.

Wanda took no delay in opening the door to her brother's room. Just as she suspected, he wasn't there – she knew it from the time she touched the rusty doorknob, it didn't matter that the lights were shut off or that it was pitch black inside.

"Where's that switch again…?" Hank fumbled around, feeling for the light switch. "Ah! Here we go."

Once the lights were on, their eyes were met with a horrifying sight. The room was musty and dusty, the wallpaper was dingy and peeling from the walls, and the chandelier dangled from the wires and was tarnished beyond help. It looked like the ceiling had water damage and potential mold besides the fact that chunks of plaster were crumbling and falling to the floor. Wanda walked over and touched the wooden bedframe to find that it had mostly rotted; she wondered how it even still stood.

"He kept apologizing." Wanda finally spoke without looking in the direction of the older mutant. "He said he was sorry he abandoned me at the asylum. He acted as if we had had a conversation about it already but I hadn't told him yet that I remembered my memories. You know…the real ones and not the fake one's _our dear father _put in my head. I haven't spoken a word to him since he got here. The last time we talked was months ago."

"What do you mean 'he acted as if you had had a conversation about it already?'" Hank's eyebrows furrowed and his mouth turned downward.

"It was weird…" Wanda searched for the words. "I was going to tell him but it was like he knew what I was going to say before I even got a chance to say it." She looked at Mr. McCoy worriedly. "Does he have a new power that's similar to Jean's or the Professor's?"

Hank thought a moment, looking around the room. "I'm now sure he has a new power…or powers, but I have a feeling his are not like either one of theirs."

"Then what?" Wanda felt her anger bubbling up. Luckily, the instructors had taught her better control of her own powers over the past few months. She took deep breaths, closed her eyes, and calmed herself.

Hank shook his head. He wasn't sure what Pietro's new powers entailed.

* * *

Xavier made his way from the elevator into the attic space. The ceiling light blinked as it gradually expired. There was a teenager sitting, leaning against the wall. The wall, however, was black as if someone had torched it or perhaps it was rotting; Xavier couldn't be certain. There wasn't anything in the attic. They didn't like to keep supplies or junk up there, feeling it would only clutter up a space that may have a use later on down the road. But even so, the burn marks- or the rot- continued to spread outward but ultimately seemed to originate from where the teen was sitting.

"How'dyoufindme?" Pietro twitched so quickly it made him seem as if he was vibrating. "YouuseCerebro?"

"I didn't need Cerebro to find you here. I just needed to concentrate." Xavier approached him. "Do you think you could do something for me?" When the teen did nothing but stare back at him, the Professor continued. "Could you try to slow down your thoughts?"

"Ican't. Ican'tcontrolanythinganymore." He twitched again.

"Try." Xavier repeated. "I can help you, Pietro, if you let me." Xavier continued to get closer to the teen. "You have to calm down. Try to relax."

"Youdon'tknowanything." The blackened wood floor and the walls continued to spread. "Ialreadytoldyou. Whywon'tyoubelieveme?" Another twitch. Xavier's face contorted.

"Pietro, what are you talking about?" The Professor was utterly baffled.

"Ialreadytoldyou. The world is going to end." Pietro put his face in his hands. "I already…told you. Why didn't you listen to me?" He shook his head. "Make it stop!"

The Professor could sense that Pietro was struggling to work with him and trying to calm himself and his thoughts. Xavier was now right next to the teen that held onto two fistfuls of his own snowy white hair, resisting the urge to pull every strand off his head. "You can do this. Take deep breaths." Xavier put his fingertips to his own temples. He began to probe the boy's troubled mind.

Xavier could barely make out anything in Pietro's head. "_Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!" _He heard repeated over and over again. The mantra echoed as images flashed by too quickly for the Professor's own mind to register. However, he was getting the sense that these 'memories' were all jumbled up to the teen – past was present, present was future, and the future had already come to be.

Xavier was getting pummeled with too much information. He had to come out of the boy's mind.

When the Professor opened his eyes to the world, Pietro was rocking back and forth, eyes shut tight and still yanking at his hair. Rogue was next to him, a hand about to remove the other hand's glove. "Rogue! Don't!" Xavier yelled and Rogue stopped, looking at her instructor.

She smirked slightly. "I'm only going to do just a bit to take the edge off." She winked and before the Professor could argue, Rogue's glove was removed and she had her bare hand on Pietro's.

Pietro shook his head awake, looking around the attic in a dumbfound state. Rogue, too, shook her head. She was trying to make sense of what she had just absorbed. She hadn't gotten much from Pietro – just a few memories she couldn't make heads or tails of quite yet.

Wanda kneeled down next to her brother. He looked up at her but didn't say anything although he had begun to open his mouth to do so. "It's okay." She gently stroked his hair, which he had almost successfully ripped out moments ago. "You have to tell me what's going on with you."

He looked away.

"Pietro!"

"'Can't control it. I can't control my powers anymore. And what's more they seem to have changed…" Pietro's lower lip quivered. "I still have my speed but I'm way faster and things around me seem to just decay or age or something whenever I get upset…I don't know if I can reverse it either."

The room was quiet for a moment until Rogue spoke up, finally out of her daze. "And these memories? Some of these either aren't real or haven't happened yet."

"…What are you talking about?" Pietro's eyes narrowed.

"I absorbed some of your memories. But they aren't in order." Rogue put a hand to her forehead. "They aren't predictions either. They feel so…familiar."

Pietro stood up wobbly. Wanda went to help him but he pulled his arm away without even giving her a glance. His eyes suddenly showed no emotion in them and he began towards the stairway. "Pietro! Wait!" Wanda ran after him.

The twins disappeared from sight and while Rogue and the Professor were too worn out to follow them, Hank who had been watching from a distance the entire time, gave a nod to the other remaining two. "I'll go after them." Hank said and then hurried to catch up.

"Are you alright, Rogue?" Xavier asked.

She nodded but she wasn't entirely sure she had told him the truth.

* * *

To be continued…

**Author Note:** Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Remember to leave a review if you want.

Stay tuned for Chapter Five of **Deep Silent Winter**!


	5. Chapter 5

**Deep Silent Winter**

Chapter Five

**Author Note**: Hey guys, sorry this update took a few days longer than usual! As always, I enjoy your feedback and am very grateful for the input!

Special Thanks:

fightingchampion

WaitingForLife2Begin

Silver

Sonar

Alliprince

Okay, enough of me babbling. Enjoy Chapter Five!

* * *

Rogue sat up in bed and hugged her knees to her chest. She continued to look out the balcony window at the eerie moon, which was distorted by a thick fog. The cold early morning air seeped into her room and she shivered even under the blankets. It was a time for frost, a time for exams, and approaching holidays that were lonely for her – winter would be here soon. Or at least it would feel like it.

But it hadn't been the coolness of her room that had woken her or even the stress of upcoming tests or the holiday season. It truth, what she had been woken by didn't even belong to her. The memories she had absorbed from another mutant were still running around frantically in her own mind – Pietro's memories wouldn't fade even after several days.

Rogue picked up her cell phone and turned it on to see the time. It was 3:30am. She had gotten used to using her phone like this, preferring the LED numbers to any analogue watch or even the older digital alarm clocks.

"3:30…I can't go back to sleep…" Rogue sighed and pushed her blankets off of herself, putting her bare feet on the floor and rubbing her eyes. She continued to stand up and began to make her way down to the kitchen to grab a glass of milk and maybe a cookie.

While passing the Professor's office, Rogue heard whispered voices emanating from the room and upon further inspection she noticed the door was just slightly cracked open. The young mutant thought for a mere second and then entered.

"I thought you said you knew where his file was, Lance!" Wanda's voice was slightly raised.

"Shhhh! Wanda! Not so loud. I told you, I saw the Prof put it somewhere around here…" Lance continued to shuffle papers around the Professor's desk and search drawers while holding a flashlight in the other hand.

"Don't you _dare _shush me again." Wanda hissed. She too held a flashlight but wasn't helping Lance search.

Rogue stared and noticed they had yet to realize she was there. She cleared her throat.

"Aw shit!" Lance jolted down, trying to hide behind the desk. He peeked over the side and upon seeing it was just Rogue, let out a sigh of relief.

"What are you two _doing_?" Rogue asked.

Wanda snorted. "Lance promised to find me Pietro's file." She said this with no remorse or hint of guilt.

"But why?" Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"Because my idiot brother refuses to tell me anything." Wanda shined her flashlight in Lance's face. "This other idiot claims he got a glimpse of something. I want to know where my brother's been and what happened." A solemn expression passed over Wanda's face but was soon covered up by a scowl.

"Why 'you outta bed?" Lance asked shielding his eyes from Wanda's flashlight.

"…Couldn't sleep. Nightmares." Rogue glanced away.

"'This have anything to do with absorbing stuff from Tro?" Lance continued his search. Rogue opened her mouth to say something. "Hey! Here it is! Pietro's file!" Lance interrupted before Rogue could even start talking.

Wanda grabbed the folder from Lance and immediately opened it. The documentary photographs slipped out and scattered to the floor. Wanda gazed upon the photos of her brother in his abused and vulnerable state. His body looked weak and fragile and as if someone had used him as target practice the way a toddler played with a toy. "…What is this...?" Wanda looked from photo to photo in a daze.

"There's something else here…" Lance walked over with an audio recorder and pressed the play button.

_"What are you looking for?" _The Professor's voice said.

_"Just making sure." _That voice belonged to Pietro.

_"Making sure of what?"_

_"That they aren't here_. _I don't want to go back there. Please don't make me. Idon'tlikethatroom. Don'tletthemtakemeback."_

_"It's alright. You're safe here."_ The older mutant's voice was trying to comfort the teen. _"Can you tell me about 'that room?'"_

_"It was always dark – no windows or lights. It was cramped and I couldn't move around much."_ There was a pause. _"The only time I saw anyone was when those…people came…to…hurt me."_

_"Pietro? Are you alright?" _No answer. _"Pietro? If you can hear me, please nod." _A brief pause. _"Pietro?"_

A cough came from the audio device. _"Please! Don't!" _Pietro's voice pleaded before a scream erupted making the tiny speakers crackle.

Lance frantically shut off the audio recorder and then went to check outside the office to make sure no one had heard it.

Wanda turned to Rogue. "Rogue, if you know something, _anything_, about what happened to my brother please tell me…You absorbed part of him, right?"

"Well, yeah, but…" She looked at Wanda's horrified look, which she was trying desperately to control. "Ah don't know! Ah'm so confused!" With that, Rogue ran from Wanda, passed Lance, and out of the office.

Rogue thought to go back to her room and curl up under the covers but she knew she would be unable to sleep. She decided to return to her earlier idea of getting a glass of warm milk just to take her mind off of things, although at this point she would have preferred vodka.

Stepping into the kitchen, she saw the glow of the T.V. and, even though the volume was turned low, she heard the man trying to sell her cleaning products. There was another student in the room with her. The light from the T.V. was cast over the pained expression on his sleeping face, which was snuggled in his crossed arms against the kitchen table. "Pietro?" Rogue whispered, seeing just how much of a deep sleep he was in.

When he didn't stir, Rogue felt a longing wash over her. She wanted to know more, his thoughts and memories haunting her own mind. She began to remove one of her gloves.

Reaching out towards the boy's cheek, Rogue hesitated. She thought of her bare skin against his and felt a pang in her heart. She couldn't touch anyone or else she would physically hurt the recipient. Nobody could touch him because of the terror he felt when receiving any form of physical contact. Somehow this made them similar. Even so, Rogue couldn't bring herself to pry further into his personal business without him willingly giving her the information. There were enough people trying to do that to him. And while Rogue understood why Lance and Wanda were up in Xavier's office right now, she felt she wanted answers in a more direct form. She curbed her thirst for knowledge for now and began to re-glove her hand just as Pietro began to stir.

Pietro jolted awake and frantically looked around the room before he ultimately remembered where he was sitting. At first, Rogue thought maybe he hadn't noticed her but she was wrong. "Rogue? What are you doing here?" He looked warily at her hand that she had just barely finished re-gloving.

"Hey, listen, Speedy-'Ah just came here for a glass of milk." Rogue said a-matter-of-factly. "But…are you alright? Ya seemed kinda…scared."

"I'mnotscared. Jeez." Pietro was defensive about it but it was painfully obvious he was lying.

Rogue was already over by the fridge, pouring herself a glass of milk and trying to act cool about the whole interaction. "'Alright, then, why are ya down here at 4am?"

Pietro started flipping through channels even though his eyelids were increasingly heavy. "Getting an early start."

"Ah huh…"

"Why are you down here at 4am? Shouldn't you be sleeping or doing homework or training or something?" He didn't bother looking at her but instead continued staring blankly at the T.V.

"Ah already told ya. I wanted some milk."

"Yeah, right. Milk." Pietro glanced over at her and then back at the T.V. "It had nothing to do with my memories, huh?"

Rogue spat milk everywhere. "W-what?"

"Oh come on, Rogue. I can tell they're still in your head. I know they're in mine. That's why I can't sleep much anymore. I'm lucky if I get more than an hour a night."

There was silence for a good two minutes.

"It's okay…I'm sure you'll forget them soon. I mean, they aren't your memories, right?" Rogue wasn't sure if Pietro was trying to be nice or if he meant he didn't want her to remember.

"I…don't want to forget though." Rogue said and Pietro stopped changing channels and froze.

He put down the remote and finally turned to face her. He stared straight into her eyes with the look of a lost child in his own. "Then you're an idiot."

If it was one thing Pietro Maximoff was good at, it was getting people riled up. "Me? Ah'm the idiot?" Pietro nodded like the stubborn ass he was. Rogue rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

Pietro snorted. "Why would you want to remember all this shit? It just hurts. You'd be better off if you just forgot." He turned away and stared back at the T.V.

"I know." Rogue said. "But…" she looked over her shoulder at the other young mutant with a slight red tint in her cheeks.

"But what?" He once again refused to look at her. "It's not like my memories are doing you any good."

Rogue's gaze hit the floor. "I'm going back to bed."

"Yup. Good luck sleeping." Pietro said, his focus still on some infomercial he found ten seconds prior.

Rogue left without another word and was able to sleep until 5 o'clock when her alarm went off. It was time for training.

* * *

Training had been awkward for Lance, Wanda, and Rogue. They could barely look at each other, much less say good morning.

Breakfast was just as awkward but they all sat next to each other anyway as to avoid raising suspicion among the adults. Pietro, who was oblivious to what Wanda and Lance had done, was trying to ignore Rogue. He piled even more food than ever on his plate this morning.

"How are you so thin if you eat just as much as Freddy?" Tabby stared in disbelief at Pietro inhaling his food.

"Yeah, man! What do you do? Throw it all up afterwards?" Evan said and nobody was sure if he was insinuating that Pietro had an eating disorder.

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's _exactly _it."

"Seriously?" Evan looked horrified.

"No, you moron!" Pietro yelled, almost angrily. He didn't feel like explaining himself.

"Stop bickering or you all will be late for school." Ororo scolded.

"How come he doesn't go?" Evan poked at his food. "I hate school. Teachers have it out for me."

"That's because you fail almost every subject at least once." Pietro stabbed.

"Hey, man, just because you're a _bulimic emo _doesn't mean you have to-"

"Evan! Don't even finish that sentence!" Ororo hissed with so much fury even Pietro was scared for the blond, dark skinned mutant. She stood from the table. "The other room. Now." She finished firmly.

"Ever since _he's _been here, everyone's been acting _fucked up_." Evan glared at his rival. "Ooooh, poor Pietro! Look how _sad _he is! We **have **to help him. He's probably faking it." Evan stormed away from the table and Storm rushed after him.

All eyes gravitated over to Pietro who avoided each and every one of them. He looked down at his plate of food that he had only half consumed. He could hear the voices of his abductors as if they were currently in the same room.

_"He's faking it!" One of his captors said and made two others in the room laugh. Pietro had lost count of how many people came to torture him even though he was quite certain there was a pattern or a schedule. Even so, he couldn't keep track of such things._

Pietro looked up at the other students who looked back at him with genuine concern. He pushed his chair away from the table and walked away mumbling a faint 'I'm done."

* * *

Lance and Wanda stood in front of Pietro's door. Before Wanda knocked she turned to Lance. "Can you leave? I think I need to do this alone." Neither of them looked at the other. Soon though, Lance faintly nodded and after giving Wanda's hand an unexpected squeeze, walked away.

Wanda, whose face had become flushed, pushed Lance out of her mind. She knocked on her brother's door. When there was no answer, she entered on her own accord.

Pietro was on the balcony, staring out. He hadn't even noticed Wanda had entered and probably hadn't heard her knock either. She walked up to him. "Pietro?" He didn't move, didn't acknowledge her presence. She gazed at his face, which was totally blank. "Pietro? You okay?" She reached for his shoulder and shook him. He jolted around and swatted her hand away looking terrified at her.

She rubbed her hand where he had swatted it. It had actually really hurt. It was more than that though and for a moment her joints ached like that of an old woman's but it soon faded and her hand felt normal again.

Pietro held his head. "Oh, hey…Wanda." He was breathing hard as if his panic was still dissipating. "Sorry, I didn't mean that…"

"You didn't even know I was here, Pietro…" Wanda's eyebrows creased. "What did they do to you?"

Pietro slowly looked up at his sister, a look of pure confusion. He slowly shook his head. "You had _no right _looking at that!" He screamed. "And you know what? Last Saturday when Lance asked you out, you should have said no!"

Now it was Wanda's turn to be confused. "What **are **you talking about? Lance never asked me out! I barely hung out with Lance last Saturday!"

"Pft! What are _you _talking about? He asked you out and you both went to see a movie that day!" Pietro looked away from Wanda, a mixture of anger and bafflement written all over his face.

"That never happened!" She said and Pietro rolled her eyes.

"Of course it did, it was his Halloween gift to you. He knows you hate all holidays."

Wanda was silent and Pietro didn't understand why. "What day do you think it is?"

"What kind of question is that?" Pietro looked offended. "I'm not that zoned out."

"Pietro, just tell me the date." Wanda pleaded.

Pietro sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's November 7th." He said honestly. Wanda stared at him. "So? What's the big deal about today?"

"Because today isn't November 7th. It's October 24th." Wanda looked at her brother with concern. Pietro looked away from his sister, his face contorted and his mind in deep thought. "Halloween hasn't even happened yet."

He turned back to her. "Okay, so maybe I am that zoned out." He tried to reason with himself more than his sister.

"No. I don't think you are. You honestly thought that that had happened." Wanda said. "Tell me what is going on with you." She demanded and stressed every last word in her sentence.

For a moment, Pietro stood in place contemplating what to say next.

"Pietro…please."

"I think I can 'transcend' and control time and space." He finally said in a shaking voice. Wanda didn't know what to say or do so instead she did nothing.

* * *

To be continued…

**Author Note**: Want to know what happens next? Next chapter will continue this little interaction between siblings and so much more!

Remember to leave your review! You write 'em, I'll read 'em.

See ya in Chapter Six!


	6. Chapter 6

**Deep Silent Winter**

Chapter Six

**Author Note**: Holy Moley! Are we already on chapter six?

Special Thanks to Chapter Five Reviewers:

Silver

Alliprince

Fightingchampion

WaitingForLife2Begin

Sydney . Jenkins . 106 (By the way, sorry your name didn't show last time. I don't know why that happened because I totally wrote your name in Chapter Two for Chapter One's "Special Thanks" list.)

Think we can get the total reviews to 30 this time? Let's try!

* * *

The two siblings sat side-by-side on Pietro's bed. The bed frame had been replaced since the last time she had been in his room and repairs to the room itself had been made. Still, there were things in his room that seemed to be re-aging – the mirror was tarnished on the edges, the wallpaper still pealed in some places, and one of the window panes had a crack in it.

They had been sitting in silence for a good while now but Wanda was letting Pietro take his time in explaining himself. He was shaking again. In truth, Wanda didn't need Pietro to tell her exactly what happened, she had read all that in his file. What she really wanted…needed to know was what was going on with him _now._

"They kept me locked in a dark room. I didn't even know how long I'd been in there until SHEILD came and took me away." Pietro swallowed hard. He was bouncing his leg nervously at super speed and his eyes were darting around the room. "They did horrible things…to me." Wanda put her hand on her brother's. "Even while I was there, I could feel myself changing-my powers. But I ignored it. All I could think about was how I'd gotten there, when my next meal would be…when _those people _would be back." A whimper got caught in his throat. "Ignoring my powers came at a cost, they kept growing more and more out of control until I was left behind. I couldn't catch up."

Wanda wanted to offer him comforting words but didn't want to interrupt him for fear that he'd shut her out again.

"I still can't remember how I got there in the first place…" He looked to the floor, his blank expression returning to his face. At first, Wanda was worried he was having an "episode" but he shook himself out of it this time. "There's too much in my head." He scrunched his eyes shut. "It's so full."

"But…what _are _your powers now exactly?" Wanda tried to get him back on track.

"I don't know. It's like I'm being projected into the future or the past but at the same time I'm here! 'Like my mind goes somewhere but my body doesn't…"

"Like…time travel?" Wanda was trying to comprehend what her brother was telling her.

Pietro shrugged. "And the 'aging' thing-it's as if I'm projecting something _else _into the future…but it physically stays here too." Pietro put his head in his hands. "But it has a different effect of the _thing_ then it does on _me_…this is so confusing..."

"But then by that logic you should be able to reverse it, right?" Wanda sounded hopeful and Pietro raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, you said the future _or _the past."

"I guess…"

"And if things around you age when you get upset, then maybe they'll "un-age" if you feel contented?"

"How do we test that…" Pietro sounded skeptical.

Wanda looked at the crack in the balcony windowpane. Pietro followed her gaze. "Remember when we were kids…we _loved _looking out the window at anything and everything. We'd make stories about the people we saw, we'd imagine we were riding on the backs of birds, and we'd think about places we'd adventure to, do you remember?"

Pietro's mouth twitched upwards and his eyes went distant. Wanda watched the crack in the glass as it slowly retreated and eventually disappeared.

But then Pietro's smile faded and a cloud passed over his face. "But then when you went away…I was alone." The glass started to become brittle and crack again. Her hand, which was still positioned on Pietro's started to ache again. So much so that she pulled it away from his. Looking at it, her hand appeared older, slightly wrinkly before fading to normal again. "And then I was sent away too, to some foster family who didn't give a damn about me."

The windowpane shattered and jolted Pietro out of his daze. He looked at Wanda who had a look of terror on her face.

"…What?" He went to touch her hand, which she was trying to cover, rubbing it as if it hurt. She avoided his touch so he retreated. "Wanda? What did I do?"

"You can age people too." Her face changed to concern. "But for people, I think you have to touch them for it to work."

He looked away. "You should go then. You should stay away from me…"

"Pietro, that's nonsense! I'm not going to abandon you!"

"I don't want to hurt you." He avoided looking at her in the eyes.

"I'm not going to leave you alone again."

"Wanda!"

"I'm _not _going!" She said firmly, a blue aura engulfing her. She meant business and she would not be persuaded otherwise, even if she needed to use her powers against her brother to convince him.

She calmed herself and Pietro watched the blue aura fade. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Then you're going to have to learn control." Wanda smirked. "If I can do it, so can you."

Pietro jumped. _"Pietro, may I speak with you a moment?" _He was not used to the Professor's voice popping into his head yet.

"What is it?" Wanda asked.

"Prof wants to see me." He stood up slowly. "I'll catch you later, Wanda." He started to walk away but turned back. "Thank you." He said.

Wanda nodded to him.

While making his way to the Professor's office, his head was in the clouds. There were so many emotions simmering in his stomach, in his head, in his heart. He felt dizzy from them and couldn't concentrate on where he was headed until he rammed right into another student.

"Man! Watch where you're going!" Evan spat.

"Evan, just chill out. It was an accident, right Pietro?" Tabitha offered a smile. Pietro nodded. "See?"

Evan rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He started to walk away.

"Hey, Evan." Pietro called, making Evan turn around angrily. "I'm sorry." Pietro said.

"…huh?" Evan asked baffled.

"I said, I'm sor-" Pietro began to repeat.

"I heard what you said! I just don't get why you said it!" Evan yelled back. Pietro tilted his head. Evan groaned now feeling guilty as his anger at the other boy dissipated. "Listen, man. Yeah, I'm mad at you for, you know, getting me thrown in jail," he squinted his eyes at his rival. "But, I mean, shit! What am I trying to say…?"

Tabby burst out laughing. "I think what Spikey Boy is trying to say here is 'let bygones be bygones' or something like that."

"Dude! No! That's not what I'm saying…! I don't think it is." He rubbed the back of his head. "What's a bygone anyway?"

Pietro smirked. "Okay, 'Spikey Boy.' Never mind then. I retract my apology."

Spyke groaned and put his hand to his face. "Not cool, dude. I'm just saying that I still consider you my rival and we can't get too friendly, now can we?" Evan smirked back.

"I could still beat you at anything."

"You're on." The two teens went to shake on it. Not a formal handshake though, their own handshake-the type of handshake they'd been doing since they were young kids. But right before their hands collided, Pietro backed away in remembrance of what Wanda had told him - _"You can age people too."_

Pietro attempted to cover up his error in judgment with a grin and ran his hand through his white hair.

Evan chuckled. "Pft, You're still a dick." He turned to Tabby. "Wanna go grab a burger or something, Tabby Cat?"

Tabitha stroked Evan's chin with her index finger. "You know it, Spikey Boy!" She winked at Pietro. "Catch ya later, Pie!"

Evan grabbed Tabby's hand and the two of them rushed off. Tabby waved behind herself at the other boy who stood looking a bit surprised. _"When did they start dating again? Or…is this the first time they're dating?" _Pietro sighed and continued onward towards the Professor's office. _"Why are my memories so screwed up? I can't even tell what's happened when anymore…"_

Pietro knocked on the office door. The Professor's voice told him to enter so he did.

"You wanted to see me?" Pietro asked the Professor as the older man wheeled himself towards the younger mutant.

"Yes, it concerns two things. Come in and sit down." The Professor turned and went over to his spot next to the sofa. Pietro followed and took a seat.

"What is it?"

"It's about some blood work Hank ran. At first he didn't find anything unusual but after reevaluating the sample he noticed your X-gene is-" Xavier was interrupted.

"Changing, mutating at an incredible rate. Pietro, your powers are evolving, which explains recent incidents." Pietro finished Xavier's sentence for him and Xavier stared wide-eyed at the boy.

"Those are my exact words..."

"I know. You already told me." Pietro pulled his knees to his chest and hugged his legs. "But at the same time you haven't told me yet and, in this case, you won't since I finished what you were going to say for you. I know everything before it happens and I know everything that has already happened too. I know too much…I know too much." Pietro wiped away a stray tear. "I don't want this. I don't want to live like this."

"Can you explain to me a bit more what you mean? Those words are quite frightening to hear from you, Pietro."

Pietro rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to off myself if that's what you're thinking…" Xavier seemed to relax a bit. "I just, I don't know! I don't know what to do." He blinked away more tears before they could fall. "What was the other thing you wanted to know?"

Xavier gave a slight nod. "You tell me."

The teen sighed. "You want to know what I meant when I said 'the world is going to end,' yeah?" The older mutant nodded. "I guess I should have worded it better. It's not like there's going to be some stupid event that wipes out everyone and everything. It's more like…our lives are all going to change. Life as we know it is going to change. That's what I meant."

Xavier still looked confused. "Life is always changing, Pietro. That's how the world works."

Pietro shook his head. "I know that. I know…" Pietro furrowed his eyebrows. "It's more than that. I just…it's hard to explain!" He yelled in a sudden fit of anger and fright. "I've already been where we're going! Anditsucks!" The boy shook his head.

"Can you tell me more about 'where we're going'? What is it like?" Xavier asked.

"No…I won't tell you. You should savor days like these." Pietro blanked out again. "By the end of winter, you'll understand…"

* * *

To be continued…

Author Note: I want to thank all you reviewers who have been giving me feedback and recommended readings and the like! Much obliged.

Remember to review.

See ya in Chapter Seven!


	7. Chapter 7

**Deep Silent Winter**

Chapter Seven

**Author Note**: Here we go again!

Special Thanks to Chapter Six reviewers:

Sonar

fightingchampion

KalliQueen

Silver

Obligatory warning: May suggest some adult themes.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

_He was thrown to the hard cement floor, his head making a horrible thud against it. There was hardly any light in the room, only that which seeped in from the door but even that was soon gone when the door was slammed shut. He could still hear voices outside the room talking to one another. There were several voices, in fact, but only one of them sounded familiar. It was a deep voice belonging to a more mature man but with the growing pain in his head, he couldn't place a face or a name to the voice._

_Pushing himself upright, Pietro attempted to look around the room some more but with only the light that crept between the crack under the closed door, he could see nothing. It was as if he was blind. Instead he focused on the voices, which although they were muffled, he could tell there was some sort of deal going on, a barter of some sort. _

_Then the voices laughed and started to recede along with the footsteps that belonged to those voices. Soon enough, the silence was deafening and Pietro could feel the loneliness creep in. "Wait! You're not seriously going to leave me here, are you?" He yelled. "Don't leave me!"_

_He waited awhile for an answer, or at least an acknowledgement, but none came._

* * *

Pietro awoke quickly from his nightmare. He wished that was all it was and nothing more but he knew better. As he put his bare feet on the carpeting, he could tell he felt different today, something felt wrong with him. He shook the thought from his head and blinked the sleep from his eyes.

He looked at his alarm clock and his eyes grew wide. 8am? He had fallen asleep around 2 in the morning! How had he even managed to sleep that long?

He hurried out his bedroom door, already being dressed from the day before; he only had to throw on his black hoodie and his sneakers. He walked passed all the other students in the hall and realized it must be a weekend. Then he remembered it was the day after Halloween. _"That's right. My sister and my best friend are dating now." _ He didn't actually have a problem with this; he just liked to tease them about it.

Wanda had told Pietro that she wasn't surprised by the fact that Lance had asked her out but by the fact that her brother knew exactly how, what, and when it was going to happen. At first, Pietro had been unsure how to feel about the two of them dating. Then when he saw how happy they seemed together, although it was hard for anyone besides Pietro to tell, he was glad it had happened.

Pietro walked into the dining hall and saw that there was a plate of food left covered with plastic wrap. "You missed breakfast." Beast said. He was sitting reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee.

"Which cup is that?" Pietro smirked.

"Only my third cup yet." Beast chuckled. "That's for you."

Pietro sat down and carefully unwrapped the plate of food. Pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and a few slices of apple. It smelled delicious but for some reason Pietro's stomach churned slightly upon thinking about consuming the meal. Regardless of that, he started eating anyway.

Beast looked up from the paper after awhile to see Pietro pushing the food around his plate. "You feeling alright?"

Pietro looked up. "Huh?" He asked and Beast nodded to his plate. "Oh. Yeah. I'm just not hungry today I guess." Pietro started to stand up but suddenly felt very dizzy and gripped the table for support. His hearing dulled and was replaced by a ringing. His stomach, which had been mostly fine up to this point, churned ten times worse than before. The edges of his vision darkened. His mind was slipping.

Hank tossed the paper and his glasses onto the table and hurried to Pietro's side. He now noticed how deathly pale the boy was. Pietro had his hand covering his mouth as if he felt nauseous so Hank grabbed a small metal wastebasket that sat nearby. Pietro didn't motion towards it and Hank realized he was trying as hard as he could to not lose his breakfast.

After a few moments, Pietro looked up at Hank, letting his hand fall away from his mouth. He shook his head as if trying to get back his composure and saw Beast looking worriedly at him. He was still gripping onto the side of the table. "Could I have some water…" He asked Beast quietly as the ringing in his ears returned.

Hank nodded. "I'll be right back."

Pietro felt the dizziness returning. The room, even though he still clung to the table for support, started to sway. He lost his grip on the surface and fell to the floor with a thud. As he started to pass out, he could distantly see and hear Beast rushing towards him, calling his name.

* * *

_It was dark and everything hurt. Pietro curled into himself, hearing the chain on his leg jingle as he did. There was dried blood under his nose, bruises on his neck, and a black eye on his face. He had burn marks from their cigarettes tainting his arms and cuts on the bottoms of his feet where they had sliced him. It was dark and everything hurt especially inside him._

_He had felt his grip on sanity fade into the abyss long ago. And hope? There was no hope. What was hope anyway? A fool's game, nothing more._

_He heard the door open and he pulled himself tighter into a ball. Footsteps drew closer to him and he shivered. He let out a yelp when one of his captors pulled him upwards by his hair. _

_"I don't like that white hair of yours. It's unnatural." The man cooed and then sloppily chopped off much of his hair, cutting it with a knife. He made sure to make a cut down the side of Pietro's face as well. He hissed from the pain. The man chuckled but it also made him boil with rage at the same time. He pushed Pietro to the ground on his back and held him there with the knife to his throat. "Now, that's much better, don't you think?"_

_The man started to lift up Pietro's shirt with the other hand. Pietro pushed at the man with his hands in an attempt to force him away but the man's weight was too much greater than the starved boy's for Pietro to push him off. The man chuckled again and continued to have his way._

* * *

Beast scooped up Pietro in his arms and began towards the infirmary. Although the boy's body was racked with tremors, he remained limp in Hank's arms. The other students craned their necks at the sight and a few of them followed - Todd, Fred, Lance, Wanda, Kurt, Kitty, Rouge, and Jean. Jean thought she could be of some assistance since she was now in college studying to be a doctor.

The group entered the infirmary and Hank gently laid Pietro on a hospital bed.

"What happened?" Wanda asked frantically.

"Is he going to be alright, yo?" Todd wondered.

"He has a high fever." Hank answered feeling Pietro's forehead. "It seems very sudden…"

"Pietro's been like that since we were kids." Wanda spoke. "Fast at everything, including getting sick."

Pietro began to stir. He groaned trying to open his eyes. "It's so bright in here." He said weakly, trying to cover his eyes. His friends gathered around his bedside, all with worried looks on their faces. "What'd I do now…?"

"You're sick, yo!" Todd was the first to point out the obvious.

"Can I have the rest of your breakfast, Tro? You probably don't want-" Fred started to ask.

"Fred! That's, like, so gross!" Kitty told him, sticking out her tongue.

"Yeah…That's pretty disgusting." Kurt scrunched his face.

The four of them began to bicker and Pietro covered his mouth again with his hand, turning on his side. "Can we not talk about food?" He mumbled.

"Guys, shut up! You're making him nauseous." Rouge butted in.

"Okay, I need you five to leave." Beast said, shooing them away.

"Vhy only us?" Kurt asked, slightly insulted. "Vhat about Vanda and Jean?"

Hank smirked. "Well, you see, Jean is useful and Wanda is family. So go." He nodded to the door. The five students grudgingly walked out. "Well, now that that's taken care of…" He turned back to his patient. "Want to tell me how you're feeling?"

Pietro only groaned in response. They noticed he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Wanda took her brother's hand in her own; he was burning up. "Don't leave me…" He said weakly.

"I won't." Wanda said giving his hand a comforting squeeze. Her brother's hand twitched closed and then relaxed. "Pietro?"

He groaned again but his mind faded into the darkness just like before.

* * *

_Pietro sat with his back against the cold wall. His eyes showed no emotion. He could hear something was going on beyond the walls of his prison but had no reaction to the noises and disruption of whatever was occurring. _

_Finally all the noises ceased and it was silent once again. It stayed this way for a long time until someone opened the door. "There's a kid in here!" Someone yelled. _

_"Is that Magneto's son?" He heard another voice say and Pietro's heart clenched. _

_"Let me see." The obvious leader of the group entered Pietro's room. Pietro still hadn't moved, hadn't looked up. The man with an eye patch knelt down to the young mutant. "My name is Nick Fury," he said. "I'm going to take you away from this place. To a hospital for now." The man looked Pietro over, seeing his injuries. Pietro still continued to stare at the floor. "Can you hear me?" When Pietro failed to respond yet again to the man's voice, Fury sat down next to him and sent his agents away. This surprised the young mutant who finally glanced at him. "How'd you end up here?" He asked rhetorically with a sigh. _

_Pietro swallowed hard and let out a muffled choke. His eyes felt watery. Was he crying? He couldn't feel anything. He didn't want to so instead he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off into sleep. _

_When he awoke, he found himself in a hospital bed. There was an I.V. in his arm and a gentle beeping from the heart monitor. His wounds had been tended to but there was a definite residual aching that emanated from them._

_The doctors and nurses came and went. They tried to talk to him but Pietro would never answer. Even so, they wouldn't stop trying to get him to say something, anything. He couldn't understand why._

_Eventually, Nick Fury returned. He said he was going to take him now to a different place that could help him. How long had he been in the hospital? _

_Pietro sat in a soft chair by the window, staring outside. Nick Fury stayed in the room with him and patiently waited until Pietro was ready. It took some time before Pietro stood up and followed him out the door and even then it took a lot of convincing from the doctors and nurses who had grown to care for him._

* * *

Pietro's eyes gradually opened to see the infirmary around him. His body felt tired and his brain felt foggy. Pietro looked over at his sister who sat in a chair next to his bed.

She smiled. "Hey, you're awake."

He blinked, a bit confused. "How long was I asleep?" It took all his strength to ask.

"On and off for a couple days actually." She told him as he tried to sit up in bed. Wanda helped him.

He held one hand to his forehead. "What happened to me?"

"You had some sort of virus. Hank thinks it might have been just a really bad flu." Wanda touched his forehead. "At least your fever is mostly gone. You know, you scared the hell out of all of us!"

He groaned. "…Sorry."

They went quiet for a moment. "Pietro?" Wanda said.

"Yeah?" He didn't look at her. His head was still aching.

"You were talking in your sleep." She said.

"Oh yeah? What'd I say?" He mumbled.

"Most of it was just babbling nonsense. But…" She paused. "You said something that worried me."

"What was it?" He looked up at her finally.

"You asked, 'Why would _he_ do that?' Which I wouldn't have thought much about except you also asked, 'Why did _he_ leave me here?'

"Who's _he_?" Pietro raised an eyebrow at her totally baffled at what she was getting at.

"I think you were talking about Magneto. I think you meant _our father_." Wanda said, the word 'father' burning her tongue.

Pietro's eyes widened. Something rang a bell in his mind even though the memory was still vague. The familiar voice behind the door…was Magneto.

* * *

To be continued…

Author Note: Whoa. What a bombshell! Hope to see you back for Chapter Eight!

Remember to leave your reviews for me to read and be happy about.


	8. Chapter 8

**Deep Silent Winter**

Chapter Eight

**Author Note**: Oh poo, this chapter took forever for me to get to. Many apologies.

Special Thanks to Chapter Seven reviewers:

Sonar

Fightingchampion

FFlove

Silver

Hi hi 1234

On with it then.

* * *

He could feel the rage boiling within him, his pain seething. He had been betrayed again. Again, again, again! It was his own damn fault for trusting _him_. How could he be so stupid?

Like a jigsaw puzzle, his mind had begun to piece memories together although they were disjointed, memories still missing. That room, the darkness, those people – Mutant Hunters…his father. They all connected somehow, Pietro's mind wasn't certain how just yet. His heart on the other hand, knew everything.

Pietro wasn't much aware of what was going on in the real world any longer. All he could feel was the horrible aching in his chest, he was consumed – engulfed – in anger, loneliness, sorrow. It didn't matter who he hurt or what he destroyed right now, just as long as everything vanished.

His world was void of sound and everything seemed to slow down to him, blur, and fade. His vision told him there were other people around him but he could barely recognize them now. Who were these people? He didn't care. Were they going to hurt him too? Most likely.

_They have to go away then. I'll force them away! I don't want them here! _ His mind was racing. So many thoughts. So many emotions. _I don't need them. I don't want them._ _I'll force them away, I'll force them away, I'll force them away._

He tossed everything at these strangers that he could get his hands on from within the environment of the infirmary. _Get away, get away, get away. I don't need you._

The white-haired teen paced back and forth shoving anything he could to the ground. Supplies, linens from the bed, medical equipment – it didn't matter what it was, he just wanted everything and everyone gone.

He found a glass of water placed beside the now disheveled hospital bed and picked it up. He was just about to chuck it at the others when a voice got through to his ears. It was faint at first but it sounded like his name. His name? What…was his name again?

"…Pietro…Pietro…Pietro!" The girl who called his name had short, dark hair. She somehow resembled himself. Her face was twisted in fear as a large blue beast held her back.

"Wanda, let the Professor take care of this!" The blue mutant said.

_Wanda…_

Pietro saw a bald man in a wheel chair, positioned in front of him but far enough away to prevent himself from being injured. Was he trying to talk to him? He couldn't hear…the world was so distant now.

Pietro's grip on the object in his hand loosened and the glass of water slowly slipped and then shattered on the floor. The crash emanated through his head. _Wan..da…Wanda?_

"Wanda?" Pietro finally spoke. He put a hand to his forehead. The Professor let his own hands fall away from his temples. The teen looked around the infirmary. It was a mess. What happened? His sister looked horrified. Beast and Jean were breathing sighs of relief. What did he do?

"Pietro? Can you hear me now?" Pietro closed his eyes momentarily. "Piet-"

"Yeah. I hear you." He shook his head, trying to get rid of the residual rage.

All parties present were silent a moment more before the Professor spoke again. "Would you like to explain?"

"Explain? Explain…what?" Pietro seemed genuinely confused but as his eyes continued to search around him he realized what his mentor meant. "I just…it hurt."

"What hurt?" The Professor asked. "Are you feeling ill again?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Pietro spat venomously.

"I think you should. Seeing as how you just destroyed the entire infirmary."

The teen thought for a split second and then his expression went blank. "I'm _not_ going to talk about it."

Jean, who had been quiet the entire time, spoke finally seeing the Professor's frustration and stress levels rising at a dangerous rate. "Professor, may _I _have a moment with Pietro?" She knew the Professor felt under an extreme amount of pressure at the moment because of a certain new…situation. "You have a lot on your plate right now."

Jean's suggestion took Xavier off guard but a sense of relief washed over his being briefly. He thought a moment and with a smile, nodded his head to her. Xavier also gave a nod to Pietro in recognition. He then turned and left the infirmary.

"Wanda." Beast put a hand on the female twin's shoulder. She looked at her brother but soon also turned and left with the older mutant.

As soon as his sister was out of earshot, Pietro faced Jean, an odd look in his eyes. Was it anger or fear though? Jean knew the answer, of course. It was fear although it appeared as anger on the outside. "What? I get passed on to someone else? Am I too much trouble?" Pietro smirked. "Typical."

"It isn't like that, Pietro." Jean offered a friendly smile but she only received a glare in return. "Something's…happening."

"I know." His expression completely changed. Sorrow now?

"You know?"

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Of course I know! Look, Jean. The government is screwed up! We're fucked! Face it! All mutants are." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Jean closed her eyes, regaining her composure. "Listen, Pietro. I'm not going to discuss _that _with you right now." She paused and opened her eyes, looking directly at Pietro. "Tell me what happened. Why did you just have a breakdown?"

"You already know, don't you?"

"Actually, not really. Your mind processes things too quickly for me or for the Professor to follow. _Tell me what happened_."

Pietro hesitated. "I just remembered something, alright?"

"No, it isn't alright. If a memory can cause you to lose complete control of yourself then-"

"Then what?" He snapped. "Just leave me alone." Pietro turned his back on her.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what happened." She said, remaining calm.

He snickered. "Magneto happened. It's always been _him_." Pietro slowly sank to the ground ignoring a few shards of glass the lightly scraped at his skin. "He sold me to _them_…I don't remember him doing it but I'm sure it was some sort of barter…and I was the prize for those _people._" He was still facing away from Jean but his voice became more and more quiet. Jean had to strain to hear him. "What human wouldn't want the most feared mutant's son as their toy?"

Jean approached Pietro and slowly placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for telling me this. It's going to be all right. I have a good feeling that everything will work out in the end."

"You're wrong." He said and Jean's hand began to ache and then transform. It was aging rapidly and it spread up her arm like a disease. "Go away."

Jean did not remove her hand from his shoulder, a look of determination in her eyes that Pietro saw when he finally turned to face her.

"Let go. Don't you see what's happen to you because of _me_?"

Still, Jean didn't let go. Pietro's eyes grew wide as it began spreading to her face.

"Let go, you idiot!" He was practically pleading.

"If you want to save me then learn to control it." Jean spoke, unafraid.

"You're crazy! I can't control it! Let go!"

She didn't. "Find a way."

_Find a way? Find a way, find a way, find a way… _Pietro racked his brain for the answer. What had his sister said once? Good memories, positive emotions. That's how he had momentarily un-aged the pane of glass those weeks ago. _Positive, positive, positive._ He closed his eyes.

When he opened them, Jean stood smiling from ear to ear, totally back to normal. "Nicely done." She helped him to his feet. Pietro seemed shocked that he had been able to reverse the effects on her caused by his mutation. "So, how did you do it?"

"I just thought of a good memory…Don't ask me which one!"

Jean put up her hands defensively. "Okay, okay. Just don't freak out on me again." They both fell silent. "You must be hungry. Why don't I go grab something from the kitchen? You haven't eaten much since you've been ill."

Pietro nodded and Jean began to walk off. "Jean?" He said, making her halt.

"Yes?"

"Do you think…I could ever…be happy?" He blushed while saying this, looking away.

"Hm? Of course." Jean giggled. "What's this about?"

"Nothing. The memory…it's just…it hasn't happened yet."

"If you felt happy in that memory and it hasn't happened yet, then there is no real question, now is there?"

He looked down. "I guess it's just hard to believe."

Jean offered a warm smile. "Let me go get that food. I'll be right back."

Pietro sat down on the bed and waited. He must have zoned out for a while because in no time, Jean had returned…along with Lance, Wanda, Kurt, Todd, Fred, Kitty, and Rouge all of them carrying some sort of snack.

"Yeah, man! Now it's a party!" Toad hopped about the room. "Dude, what did you do to this place?"

"Long story." Pietro said, his eyes on Rouge.

"Why are ya starin' at meh?" Rouge blushed and put her hands on her hips.

"Noreason." Pietro said his face slightly flushed as well, "Canweeatnow?"

"Only if you stop talking so fast!" Lance grinned, holding up a fist.

"I think I should get the most since I'm the biggest!" Freddy declared.

"That's what happens anyway, yo! You inhale food, you don't eat it!"

"Say that again!" Fred growled.

"Like, we should all have equal portions, right Kurt?" Kitty said.

Kurt shrugged. "Don't drag me into this, Kitty! I don't want to fight _Blob_ for _food_!

The group of friends laughed uncontrollably. Fred's ears blew out steam. "I'll beat every one of you into the ground for that!"

Pietro looked over at Wanda and the twins smiled at one another, a mutual understanding between them. They would get through this together, no matter what.

* * *

"This letter is from the Department of Defense?" Beast growled at the piece of paper in his hand.

"So, the DOD is taking action against mutants are they? Keepin' taps on us all! I say we show 'em what mutants can really do!" Wolverine drew out his claws.

"Logan! That will only prove to them that we are dangerous and need to be controlled." Ororo sighed. Logan grumbled and retracted his claws.

"I'm afraid we have no choice for now but to go along with this new mandate." Xavier rubbed the sides of his head. "Everyone at the Xavier Institute, both students and instructors, must register their complete information with the Department of Defense."

The group grew solemn. No one spoke or moved for an amount of time. It was only when Xavier shook his head in thought that the other instructors began filtering out of the room.

When the last one of his colleagues was gone and the door latch clicked, Xavier turned to face out the window. "You knew this would happen, Pietro." He whispered to himself. "And so did your father, didn't he?"

Xavier put a hand to his face, closed his eyes, and let out a pained sigh. He was now the one that needed Pietro's help to make things right.

* * *

To be continued...

**Author Note: **Things are getting more and more tense! Join me next chapter to learn more!

~reedleonn


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